HUNDREDS of badgers are to be trapped and injected with a vaccine in the battle to stop the spread of bovine TB in the Westcountry.

A multi-million pound Government project will see the creatures rounded up and treated in two areas of Devon. And farmers across the region will be urged to pay to have animals in setts on their land treated as part of a wider plan to limit the spread of the disease.

Government officials admit the vaccination programme – due to start as early as next summer – is not a "silver bullet" to solving the crisis which has taken parts of the farming industry to the brink.

But in the coming weeks, they will launch a charm offensive to persuade farmers to allow their land to be used in a pilot scheme – which comes with a likely price tag of £5-£10 million.

Last night, farming leaders were sceptical about the effectiveness of the programme, but admitted there were few "alternatives" after Environment Secretary Hilary Benn ruled out a cull of diseased badgers.

And wildlife campaigners said it could "marginally, possibly help" if the practical difficulties of catching and injecting badgers could be overcome.

A licence is expected to be obtained next summer for a badger vaccine similar to the BCG injection given to humans. It is hoped that soon after, contractors will move in to six trial areas across the country – including two in Devon – to start administering the drug.

Over a period of several weeks, traps will be left overnight and each morning, the Government-trained contractors will inject the badgers with the vaccine, which will only help those not already infected.

Vaccinated animals will be marked with paint so they can be traced. The process will be repeated annually for five years.

Two sites, each around 39 sq miles (100 sq km), have been identified to the east and west of Tiverton, Devon, although the final chosen areas are expected to be smaller once farmers and landowners sign up.

One "barrier" to the success of the project, identified by Government experts, is a lack of confidence in the countryside that the vaccine can work.

Farming leaders in the Westcountry remain sceptical about both the science and the practicalities involved in the project, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Colin Charter, Cornwall NFU chairman, said: "I have never seen anything the ministry have done go very well, but we mustn't be negative.

"My own personal view is if the cow has been infected, they should be slaughtered, but so should a badger if it is infected.

"But I suppose we will have to wait and see how these vaccinations pan out. They have protected badgers that much, we haven't got many alternatives. They are experimenting with our livelihoods.

"It will either work or someone will have egg on their face."

Experts will use existing data on the spread of the disease to see what impact, if any, it has on the number of cattle herds which become infected.

But Jilly Greed, vice-chairman of the National Beef Association in the South West, claimed Defra had "left it too late" to start vaccinating badgers in areas where wildlife was already heavily infected.

"There is absolutely no guarantee that this is going to have any significant success whatsoever.

"They are just using it as a distraction to demonstrate that they are doing something.

"But it won't be effective – it is a political cop-out."

The programme has been agreed with Defra's TB eradication group as part of wider measures to tackle the disease without sanctioning the cull which has been called for by opposition parties.

However, even groups which oppose a cull gave only lukewarm backing to the vaccination plan.

Jack Reedy, vice-chairman of the Badger Trust, said: "It is perfectly reasonable to have a vaccine for badgers in the fight against bovine TB, which is a very difficult disease.

"However, it isn't by any stretch of the imagination a cure. It presents enormous difficulties in catching the badgers and injecting them and so on.

"It could marginally, possibly help if all the difficulties of administering it are overcome, and we won't stand in the way of that."

Each vaccine will cost around £12-£20 per badger, although there will be additional cost of trapping and monitoring the animals.

Farmers will be allowed to buy in the vaccine and the expertise of the contractors if they want to add the programme to their other measures aimed at protecting their herds from TB.

It is expected that the charge will be around 66p-£1.20 per cow.

An oral vaccine for badgers is due in late 2014. A TB vaccine for cows is being developed, but is not expected to be ready until 2015 with changes in the law required to prevent the EU blocking its use.

Yesterday, a report from the Public Accounts Committee accused Defra of "dragging its feet" on agreeing with the farming industry what the minimum standards of biosecurity should be on farms.